


Anaesthesia

by Ikira



Series: Shatt Week 2016 [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, But mostly angst, Escapism, Even in Matt's dreams he's a nerd, Fluff and Angst, If you close your eyes and hum really loudly everything is going to be okay, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Matt is not a happy boy, Shatt Week 2016, Shatt Week 2016: Nightmares/Daydreams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-08-17 11:05:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8141561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ikira/pseuds/Ikira
Summary: As the Galra Druids descend upon Matt, he closes his eyes and thinks back to a happier time to distract himself from the nightmare of his reality





	

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry guys, not a happy one today. But honestly, Shatt just kind of inevitably leads to angst, you know? It's a very angsty ship!
> 
> You can choose to believe this fic is set in the same timeline as the previous fic in this series, or you can read them as stand alone stories. The choice is up to you!

_There were dark robed figures with glowing eyes surrounding him, holding instruments and devices he couldn’t recognize but still instinctively feared. He couldn’t get away though. He was strapped down to a table, unable to move an inch. Helpless._

_One of the figures stepped forward, a glittering silver drill clutched in a clawed hand, poised over his head._

_The drill came down, and Matt closed his eyes and dreamed._

“Matt?”

Matt startled awake, scrambling and dropping the book that had been propped up on his chest. He looked around, blinking in confusion. Had he fallen asleep? He must have. And had a nightmare too, based on the way his heart was pounding. For some reason he felt disoriented for longer than usual after waking up, as if he was still partially trapped in the dream. Perhaps he needed to take a break from the story if he was falling asleep and getting nightmares from it. Though oddly he couldn’t seem to recall what he’d been reading. And when he looked around, he couldn’t quite see where the book had fallen.

Giving up his search for now, Matt looked up to see someone approaching.

“Hey, Shiro,” Matt greeted his friend, waving him over. Although he hadn’t expected to see Shiro until their classes this afternoon, he wasn’t adverse with spending some time with the man now.

Shiro plopped down next to Matt, dropping a bag of what looked like heavy textbooks to the ground with a loud thump. He groaned the moment they were out of his hands, rubbing at his shoulders.

“Oh my god, I can’t wait to get rid of these,” Shiro sighed. “Although I feel bad for whoever’s going to have to take them home.”

“Selling your textbooks?” Matt asked idly, eyeing the large stack. It was pretty much all of their first year reading materials, with a few books on more advanced piloting techniques thrown in for good measure. Strangely, though Matt could recognize the covers and knew each book from his own first year of study, when he tried to read the titles on the sides he couldn’t quite make them out. Maybe he’d strained his eyes from reading too much. His mother was always on his case about reading in proper lighting.

“Yeah. Some guy named Keith is coming at noon to buy them off of me. Cheaper than buying them new, right?” Shiro said with a shrug, drawing Matt’s attention back to him.

Of course. Always helping out the new kids; that was Shiro to a T. Knowing Shiro, he’d also probably offered the kid a really good rate for them as well.

But then Matt realized what Shiro had said, and he blinked in surprise. “He’s coming at noon?” Matt repeated. “But isn’t that in…”

He tried to look at his watch to determine the exact time, but was annoyed to find his wrist bare. He _always_ wore his watch, ever since he’d inherited it from his grandfather as an heirloom. But somehow he’d apparently forgotten to put it on this morning. And when he looked up to the walls to find a clock, there were none in sight.

“A couple hours, yeah,” Shiro finished for him smoothly, and Matt quickly forgot about his missing watch. “I know I’m early, but I hoped I might run into you first.”

“Oh?” Matt was confused but intrigued. He and Shiro had been friends since they’d sat side-by-side in their first year introductory physics class together and been partnered up for homework assignments, but Matt didn’t really spend much time with Shiro outside of school. He’d only had Shiro over to his house once, and he didn’t even know where Shiro lived. So he was a bit curious to see what Shiro wanted.

A headache started pounding at his temples, but he quickly ignored it. Shiro was much more important right now.

“What for?” he asked.

His confusion only grew when Shiro blushed and ducked his head. “Well,” Shiro stalled hesitantly, which was so unlike the Shiro that Matt knew that he was instantly alarmed. “I was wondering…um, if you’re interested, of course, no pressure, but…do you want to go for coffee with me?”

“Coffee?” Matt gave Shiro a funny look. “Why wouldn’t I be interested in coffee? You know how much of the stuff I drink.”

Shiro shook his head sheepishly before giving Matt a look that made his heart trip in his chest. “I mean like a date,” Shiro clarified carefully. “I wanted to know if you would go on a date with me.”

Matt was completely blindsided. Out of everything he had been expecting Shiro to say, that was _definitely_ not it. He knew he must look like an idiot with his eyes bugged out and his mouth hanging open, but all he could do was stare at the other man for a moment. Something about this moment struck him as false, something whispered at the back of his mind that _this was not how it had gone this wasn’t right_ but be brushed the thought aside before it could sink in too deeply.

“You want to go out with _me_ on a date?” he squeaked when he finally found his voice.

This time it was Shiro’s turn to be confused. “Well, yeah. Of course. That’s why I asked.”

“ _You,_ ” Matt repeated, making sure to add a gesture towards all of Shiro’s gorgeous body because clearly Shiro wasn’t getting the point. “Want to date _me_.” He gestured to himself.

Shiro seemed to catch on to what he was implying, because his expression shifted from confused to exasperated. “Matt,” he said with a sigh. “God, do you have any idea what you look like?”

“A scrawny redheaded nerd with freckles and glasses?” Matt offered, even though he was pretty sure Shiro meant the question to be rhetorical. “As opposed to your statuesque figure, gorgeous eyes, and stunning smile?”

“I, uh,” Shiro stuttered and blushed, de-railed by the bold compliment. “What? Wait, no.” He shook his head like a dog shaking off water. “That doesn’t matter! First of all, who cares if you’re a nerd, we’re _all_ nerds here. It’s the Garrison.” He rolled his eyes.

“Fair point,” Matt had to agree.

“Secondly, no, you’re not scrawny, I love your hair and your freckles, and honestly,” Shiro swallowed thickly, drawing up his courage. “I really like you. I’ve really liked you for a long time. I think you’re amazing, Matt. That’s why I’ve been trying to ask you out for _weeks_ , I just haven’t had the guts. Did you seriously not notice I was into you since day one?”

Matt could only splutter. “Seriously? Since first year?! How the heck was I supposed to know?!” The headache in his temples was getting worse, which did not help matters.

Shiro had the audacity to look annoyed. “I was pretty obvious about it, Matt.”

“That doesn’t matter!” Matt cried, feeling very frazzled. “Come on, you’re the handsomest guy in our class on top of being kind and friendly to everyone, and you also get some of the best grades! Smart, good looking, _and_ sweet? You’re basically a perfect human being, and you are so out of my league it’s not even funny! I was just so happy we were friends; I didn’t realize you being into me was even an _option_.”

“I’m not perfect,” Shiro argued weakly, momentarily stunned by the force of Matt’s rant.

“See? There you go again, being _perfect_. You’re so amazing it hurts,” Matt grumbled.

“I’m not!” Shiro insisted more strongly, starting to get angry. “Besides, smart, good looking, and sweet sounds like a pretty good description of _you_ , too. You’re top of our class, you look pretty damn fine to me, and you’re the one who’s always offering to help people out with their homework! I was so scared you’d turn me down I’ve been practicing asking you out on my bedroom mirror all week!”

“Well then,” Matt snapped, glaring at Shiro. “I guess it sounds like we’re just perfect for each other, then, doesn’t it?”

“I guess it does!” Shiro glared right back.

They traded dark looks for a second. Then, Shiro’s expression cleared a bit. “Wait, so does that mean you said yes?”

And just like that, they realized how stupid they were being. Matt caught Shiro’s eye, and the two of them burst out laughing, collapsing against each other as they clutched at their sides.

“Oh my god,” Matt wheezed when they finally started to calm down. The laughter, though it had felt good, had made his headache worse. It seemed to be spreading down his spine now, and strangely his legs hurt as well. “Oh my god,” he repeated, shaking off the pain for the moment, “we are _idiots_.”

“Yes. Yes we are,” Shiro agreed, wiping tears from his eyes.

“So. Coffee?” Matt prompted, trying to get them back on track.

“The one on the north corner of campus?” Shiro suggested. Matt blinked in surprise; not only was that café a known dating spot for students – so Shiro would essentially be advertising that they were on a date to the entire school – but it was also the furthest café from the library.

“Won’t that be a bit far to carry your books?” Matt asked.

“What books?” Shiro said.

“The ones you were going to sell to that kid! Those – huh?” Matt cut himself off as he looked down at Shiro’s side. The bulky bag full of textbooks he could have _sworn_ Shiro had brought in with him was nowhere to be found. Had someone taken them? But the more Matt thought about it, the harder it was to recall what the bag had even looked like, and the more his headache grew. Somewhere outside, a drill started up, the shrill noise scattering his thoughts.

“Are you okay?” Shiro asked suddenly, reaching out and resting a hand on Matt’s shoulder.

“Y-yeah. I’m fine,” Matt said, shaking his head to clear it of thoughts. What had he even been thinking about? “We were going for coffee, right?”

“Yes. Clearly you need it,” Shiro said slowly.

“Need what?” Matt asked. What had Shiro just said? The drilling going on outside was making it hard to think.

Shiro looked concerned for some reason, but he stood up and offered Matt a hand all the same. Matt took Shiro’s hand, and a little thrill shot through him when Shiro didn’t let go, but laced their hands together.

“It’s going to be okay, Matt,” Shiro suddenly said. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Of course it is,” Matt agreed, though he wasn’t even sure what Shiro was trying to reassure him about. Where were they going again?

_The drilling sound grew louder as they approached a set of doors. They looked familiar – the library? Was that where they were? The memories started slipping through Matt’s fingers like sand. All he could see was the bright light of day beyond the open doors, and all he could feel was a warm hand in his own. Who’s hand was it? Where were they going? And why was his heart beating so quickly, like he was terrified?_

_“It’s going to be okay, Matt,” a familiar voice said, though Matt no longer knew who was speaking. “It’s going to be okay.”_

_There was no warm hand in his. There was no warmth anywhere. It was dark and he was cold and alone._

_“It’s going to be okay.”_

_No it wasn’t._

_“Matt?”_

_Who was Matt?_

The drill pulled away, its work complete, and the human prisoner opened his blank and empty eyes.

“We have work for you, slave,” a harsh voice hissed from the darkness, glowing yellow eyes staring down at the table he had been strapped to.

“Yes,” the human whispered.

He dreamed no more.

**Author's Note:**

> You can see more of my stuff at [my main blog](http://ikiracake.tumblr.com/) or [my voltron blog](http://i-see-london-i-see-klance.tumblr.com/), come say hi!


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